Scholarship funds’ bungling: 2.5 yrs after The Indian Express expose, Jharkhand Police arrests 2

The Indian Express had published a series of investigative reports in November 2020, uncovering financial irregularities in the scholarship funds meant for minority students in Jharkhand. The reporting had led to an inquiry and made the state government strengthen the verification process, saving the exchequer at least Rs 50 crore in the financial year 2020-21. However, from 2022-23, the pre-matric minority scholarship was discontinued till Class 8 since Right to Education Act, 2009 makes it obligatory for the government to provide free and compulsory elementary education (classes 1 to 8) to every child.

Police said that the arrest in Koderma happened months after the district administration initiated an inquiry into the scam and found more than Rs 1.5 crore embezzled in the name of fake schools and fake students. Sources said that initial investigation showed that the personnel of the welfare department embezzled an amount of about Rs 1.5 crore in the name of 1,433 minority students.

Subsequently an FIR was registered against 10 schools, including its three employees, and against certain employees of the district welfare office in Koderma. Sources in the district said Rs 15 lakh were shown as paid to 144 students of Child Progressive School, however, it was found in the probe that the school received no money as no student studied there. The school management alleged use of fake stamps and signatures to syphon off the money.

Koderma SP Kumar Gaurav told The Indian Express: “We have arrested two persons in the minority scholarship fraud after we received a complaint from the Welfare Department. The investigation is continuing.”

While the CBI had also initiated a preliminary inquiry into the scam which spread in Bihar, Assam apart from Jharkhand, the Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren had started an Anti-Corruption Bureau probe.